Siler fights on TV Thursday, SteelFist card announced

Steelfist announced its next MMA card for August 3. Pro bouts include the return of Joe Rodriguez and AJ Garcia meeting opponents. Fighting as an amateur will be Brandon Rease. The entire card is here. The fights are at the Union Event Center in SLC.

MMA pro Steven Siler continues in the nationally televised Professional Fighters League featherweight MMA tournament (round 2) Thursday night. The card is PFL # 4 and Siler's fight against Alexandre de Almeida is on the NBCSN cable TV network telecast (Xfinity 34), which starts at 7 p.m. MST.

MORE NEWS: MMA/kickboxer Kaecy Raddon, originally out of Utah who now fights out of Colorado, will compete for the Sparta Combat League 165-pound kickboxing title on July 27 in Denver.

Fierce Fighting Championship in Price had an MMA card last Saturday that included the beginning matches of a pro lightweight tournament. Results are here at Jeffrey Dutcher's Fighting Out of Utah MMA news Facebook page.

Finally, MMA professional and enthusiast Eric Tillotson is making a comeback, at age 50, in the cage. He'll be competing Sept. 29 on an MMA card, in Logan, promoted by Mountain Force MMA promotions.

ONE MORE THING -- Good luck to Utah amateur boxers competing this week in Mesquite, Nevada, at the Junior National Golden Gloves.

SteelFist 51 card Friday night, Horn card in Ogden next month

Tomorrow night is SteelFist 51 in Salt Lake City. It starts at 7 pm at Riverbend Sports and Event Center. Main bouts are listed above in the poster. We have interviewed both AJ Garcia and Troy Dennison. The entire card is listed here. Your blogger would love to be there but he works on Friday nights. We will be keeping an eye on the results and share them. 

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Some news on boxer Jose Haro's recent opponent, Daniel Franco. By the way, although he faces many challenges, Franco, has recovered well from an injury that was life threatening after his loss to Haro. You can read his dad's latest post here. (There is still opportunity to donate to help Franco)

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Jeremy Horn's Elite Fight Night will have an MMA card on Friday, Aug. 11 at the Weber County Fairgrounds. We hope to have a photographer there. Thomas Hughes, a member of the USA kickboxing team, will be fighting his first pro MMA bout. Hughes is undefeated in MMA. Also fighting will be Top of Utah amateur 205 pounder Eric Munoz. He says it will be his final MMA bout. We hope to interview both Hughes and Munoz over the next couple of weeks. Also, in September SteelFist has a Saturday card on the 16th that matches John Valentine against Rowdy Akers, a farewell bout for both. Here's a look at upcoming cards via the state's athletic commission.

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I chatted with Julian Stevens of Lights Out gym in Clearfield and he provided an update on how some of the boxers who train there did at the Junior Nationals Golden Gloves in Mesquite last week. 

"James Cox, 65 pounds, Dylan Bahena, 65 pounds, Oxmanny Sanchez, 75 pounds, all fought great for only training for six to eight months. They all lost but learned a great deal at the tournament. Preston Tiffany won his first fight and fought Randy Canaday, whom he beat at the national Junior Olympic finals to win the tournament. (He) lost a close decision," Stevens said.

Valentine meets Akers in a farewell pro MMA bout

Yesterday evening SteelFist made an early announcement on a Sept. 16 Salt Lake City pro MMA bout. Undefeated John Valentine meets another veteran, Rowdy Akers. Valentine, 46, now lives in Las Vegas but used to reside locally and is the female matchmaker for SteelFist. Akers, 42, trains out of One Hit MMA in Layton. Both fighters plan this to be their final pro MMA bout.. It is being advertised as a "Dual Retirement Fight."

I plan to interview both as fight date draws near but I did chat with Valentine earlier this week and he offered reasons for ending his pro career. He said this, which was also published earlier on social media):

Recently I sat on the mats and I watched my children who at a young age have accomplished so much such as judo and Grappling state titles and recently securing National Ju Jitsu titles.  I asked myself how far they would be with even more coaching, more effort from me their father and coach.  Answer: a lot 

As a result I made the easiest decision in my life.  I wanted to let you know that while I feel I have another 10 years of fighting in me that for my family I decided to take one last fight (I will still do my Ju Jitsu superfights and tourneys) bit I have nothing more to prove. My goal is to retire undefeated and I am working towards that.

Valentine has high praise for Akers, calling him a strong competitor (the bout will be at 150 pounds). He says he will be at his best and expects his opponent will also be at his best. 

He's grateful for all the support SteelFist has provided him over the years, calling it a fitting location for a final bout. Pat, Kevin, Brady, Troy and the crew have been like family and I am grateful for this opportunity, he said.

Akers, as mentioned, represents One Hit MMA. Valentine represents Team Zenith and Robert Drysdale. We will have original interviews with both competitors as the date draws near. We're big fans of both these competitors and will miss seeing them in the pro cage. They have condusted themselves as strong professionals with integrity and are worthy of the respect this final bout provides. Here is SteelFist's website.

Garcia and Denniston to be interviewed

Next week we will be interviewing MMA pros AJ Garcia and Troy Dennison, who will be facing off in a pro bout July 28 at the SteelFist card in SLC.

Edminister to fight in Idaho

Another note: Bryce Edminister, an amateur MMA fighter with The Garage gym, has signed to fight Aug. 18 in Boise, Idaho, as part of the Front Street Fights card that night. According to his Facebook page, Bryce will fight Kellen VanCamp, of Kentucky.

Finally, next week we'll keep an eye on Junior National Golden Gloves in Mesquite, Nevada and let you know how locals do.

AJ Garcia versus Troy Dennison part of SteelFist in July

SteelFist's July MMA card in Salt Lake City is being slowly unveiled. An intriguing lightweight match is between Ogden's AJ Garcia, who recently defeated Rowdy Akers in his pro debut, against a tough veteran, Troy Dennison.

Other bouts include the pro debut of former University of Utah and NFL football player, Ben Moa. The heavyweight will meet Trevor Kuresa. Another pro bout matches Carson Gregory, who won a wild pro bout recently, against Jeff Roman, welterweights.

Finally, Mike O'Laskey will try to defend his SteelFist amateur welterweight belt against TJ Mitchell. More bouts will be announced over time.

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Here's a look at scheduled events from the state athletic commission. August 11 at the Weber County Fairgrounds will be Elite Fight Night 27. We'll be there. SteelFist is scheduled for Sept. 16 (we hope to be there) and Fierce Fighting Championships is back Sept. 30 in Granstville. ... In July, Mesquite, Nev. will host Junior Golden Gloves. We'll work to get a list of local fighters competing.

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Just a reminder, Daniel Franco, injured after losing his nationally televised bout to West Jordan's Jose Haro, Utah's USBA featherweight champ, is still on the long road to recovery. According to his dad, Al, the prayers, thoughts and contributions have really helped this resilient young man. A Go Fund Me account for Daniel is here.